Rockland County Residents Can Now Recycle Paper Food and Beverage Cartons

The Rockland County Solid Waste Solid Waste Management Authority announced the expansion of its recycling program to include paper cartons. Residents are now able to include refrigerated and shelf-stable cartons such as soup, milk, juice, soy and other beverage and food cartons, in their green recycling bins for curbside collection. This translates into a more robust recycling program for residents and increased revenue opportunity for Rockland County towns and villages; a win-win, especially in tight economic times.

“The Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority strives to be as environmentally responsible as possible”, says Howard Phillips, Authority Chairman.  “This initiative by the Authority, which has been in part funded by the Carton Council, has allowed us to divert more waste by adding cartons to our curbside recycling program.”

Cartons are growing in popularity as a food and beverage packaging solution and they are appearing more and more on grocery store shelves. The Authority realizes that they must have a recycling solution for these items and that when they are added into the recycling stream, they can deliver value back to the community in the form of a $35 rebate for every ton recycled.

“The Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority is proud to offer a wide variety of resources residents can use to inform themselves about proper recycling habits,” said Kerri Scales, Education Coordinator of the Authority. “Our partnership with the Carton Council will increase  resident’s awareness about the different kinds of food and beverage cartons that are accepted in our recycling program.”

The Authority currently has several public education campaigns in place including tours of the local Recycling and Environmental Education Center where groups can learn  about reducing waste and how recyclables are prepared for recycling plants. Additionally, the Authority recently debuted a new mobile and desktop app called “Recycle Coach” that contains information on where to recycle various items.

“We want to ensure every resident throughout Rockland County knows they can now recycle cartons they use every day like milk, orange juice and broth. This campaign focuses on advertisements to disseminate and maximize the reach of our message,” said Carla Fantoni, Vice President of Communications at the Carton Council. The Council consists of a group of carton manufacturers who united to expand carton recycling in the United States through strong private-public collaboration. “We are excited to work closely with the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority  who is already doing a lot to help residents recycle right.”

Carton recycling is now available in close to 60% of American households nationwide. Recycling cartons helps reduce waste, saves landfill space and also reuses our natural resources by having them remanufactured into paper products like paper towels, napkins and even building materials. Residents can learn more about carton recycling by visiting recyclecartonseastcoast.com.

To recycle cartons, residents of Rockland County may place empty cartons in their GREEN recycling  bin  starting today!  

For more information, please visit the Authority’s website at rocklandrecycles.com or contact the Authority at 845-753-2200.

About the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority

The Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority manages waste within Rockland County, NY. The Authority operates as an integrated system under two contemporary environmental paradigms. First, natural resource management through waste management agreements and policies that govern household, school and business waste practices that guide Rockland communities on how to manage waste to protect natural resources and create new resources for the manufacturing sector. Second, eco-development to ensure that waste management practices protect natural resources and prevent pollution by landfill diversion and avoidance of environmentally detrimental waste disposal.